Chapter 21

The night stretched endlessly, each minute laced with torment.

When dawn finally broke, Evelyn was completely drained, collapsing into unconsciousness.

Dominic arrived at Blackwood Group headquarters at his usual time - precisely 10:07 AM.

The moment he settled into his office, Lucas barged in without knocking.

"I swung by Twilight last night looking for you, but you'd already vanished. Did you and Evelyn Thorne leave together?" Lucas leaned against the desk with a knowing smirk.

Dominic's eyebrow arched sharply. "Is this really why you're disturbing my morning?"

Lucas chuckled dryly and slapped a thick folder onto the polished mahogany surface.

"Thornfield Industries' financial audits from the past five years. Did some digging during my insomnia hours." His expression turned serious. "They're drowning in red ink."

He hesitated before adding, "Their CFO siphoned off nearly half a billion. Rumor has it he was Richard Thorne's brother-in-law."

A muscle twitched in Dominic's jaw.

If Lucas's intel held truth, their failed product launch wasn't the sole reason for Thornfield's impending collapse.

"Lesson learned - choose your spouse wisely," Lucas quipped, shaking his head. "If Richard hadn't cheated on Clara with Margaret all those years ago..."

Dominic's voice turned arctic. "Proof that women are nothing but distractions from success."

"So you're really going through with divorcing Evelyn?" Lucas whistled. "When's the big day? Should I book strippers for your bachelor party?"

Dominic's glare could have frozen lava. "Don't you have spreadsheets to torture? Or has accounting become too mundane for you?"

Lucas sprang up, hands raised in surrender. "Message received. But before I go..." His eyes flicked to Dominic's neck. "Might want to cover up those...cat scratches. Unless you want the whole floor speculating about your wild night."

"Out." The single syllable vibrated with warning.

Lucas practically teleported to the door.

Exactly seventeen minutes later (Dominic had been counting), Bianca rapped on his office door.

"Got a minute?" She entered without waiting for permission, clicking the door shut behind her. "This can't wait."

Dominic didn't look up from his monitor. "Unless it's about the Singapore merger, it can damn well wait."

Bianca marched forward and slammed a manila envelope on his desk. "This is more important than any merger."

She perched on the edge of the visitor's chair, her gaze immediately zeroing in on the telltale marks along his throat. Her manicured nails dug into her palms.

"You slept with her last night, didn't you?" Her voice cracked. "Dominic, she's not worth-"

"Enough." His knuckles whitened around his pen. "My marriage is none of your concern."

With deliberate movements, he opened the envelope and scanned the top document.

MATERNAL HEALTH RECORD

Patient: Evelyn Thorne

Gestation: 12 weeks

Dominic's pulse roared in his ears. The temperature in the room seemed to drop twenty degrees.

His eyes continued down the page.

Father's Name: Julian Whitmore

The file exploded across the room in a shower of paper.

Evelyn was carrying his nephew's child.